Are your family trips an exercise in pleasure or comfort? Behavior economics guru Dan Ariely notes that there's a vivid difference between the two... and it may mean the difference between a fantastic vacation and...

People with disabilities shouldn't have to try and pass as able in the workplace, says writer and comedian Maysoon Zayid. But the sad reality is that America's largest minority remains invisible throughout popular...

You've Heard of OCD, But Do You Really Understa...You've Heard of OCD, But Do You Really Understand It? :: Big Thinkers on Mental Health

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Big Think and the Mental Health Channel are proud to launch Big Thinkers on Mental Health, a new series dedicated to open discussion of anxiety, depression, and the many other psychological disorders that affect millions worldwide.

Why It's Good to Think Cynically

Opposition to the ideas of others is too often framed in terms of cynicism, resulting in the objector being labeled as steadfastly against action, progress, change, and other forms taken to be universally good. But an important distinction in the debate over cynicism is rarely given its due. That difference is between thinking cynically and acting cynically. "There is nothing good to be said for people who cynically deceive to further their own goals and get ahead of others. But that is not what a good cynic inevitably does." Those who think cynically see their outlook as a lens through which problems can be addressed honestly, and action taken to solve them.

What's the Big Idea?

While neuroscience portends an optimistic viewpoint by attempting to understand the brain chemistry behind positive and negative emotions, it claims that by understanding the neural basis of personality and mood, we can change it and so increase our optimism, health and happiness. "The deeply cynical result of this apparently cheerful viewpoint is that it encourages us to see what we think and believe as products of brain chemistry, rather than as rational responses to the world as it is. ... If that's not taking a cynical view of human merit and potential, I don't know what is."